JANET K. TSUTAOKA

Janet K. Tsutaoka passed away peacefully on January 16, 2021 at her home in Oakland. Janet was born on July 3, 1939. As a child, along with 110,000 Japanese Americans she was wrongfully incarcerated at a camp in Amache, Colorado. She spoke of this as the most difficult period in her life. She graduated from Analy High School in Sebastopol and completed a community college degree in medical transcription. She moved to Lodi when she married her husband Tom Tsutaoka, where they raised their four children, Elsa, Ben, Greg and Neil. She suffered a brain aneurysm in 1982 but did not let it deter her. She travelled extensively to Disneyland, Disneyworld, Japan, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, the Mediterranean and Thailand over the years. She then moved to the Bay Area to be closer to her family.

Janet loved dogs, especially Cindy. She was a loving mother, witty, kind and will be remembered for her “ganbatte!” / “can-do!” spirit and the ever present twinkle in her eyes.

She is survived by her children, Elsa and her partner Nsoah Chionesu, Ben and his wife Stacey, and Greg and his wife Annabelle; grandchildren, Jake and Josh Tsutaoka; sisters-in-law, Mary Tsutaoka, Alice Unno and Judy Sugimoto and their families; aunt, Yae Furusho; uncle, Hats Hamasaki; and cousins, Joyce, Joan, Leslie, Ralph, Keiko, Kathy, Kim and Craig and their families.

We will be hosting a virtual memorial service via Zoom on February 21, 2021 at 11 a.m. Please contact etsutaoka@gmail.com for more information. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Buddhist Churches of America at https://bca.kindful.com/.

Please sign the guest book at lodinews.com/ guestbook.